Tag Archives: College Football Hall of Fame

It was announced this week that Brian Bosworth finally got into the College Football Hall of Fame after waiting for two decades. And even in selection, there were complains that Bosworth hadn’t suffered enough for his “transgressions” at OU.

I got a sense that Bosworth felt this would be the year when I spoke to him last fall. He was matter of fact about his prospects saying that he probably didn’t make it last year because other OU players were ahead of him and the college football lords didn’t want it to seem like one team was dominating.

And the ESPN 30 for 30 that ran a few months back was a good indicator that if maybe all hadn’t been forgotten, enough time had passed for most of it to be forgiven.

Just to refresh your memory, here’s my take on Bosworth’s delayed entry and a plea for him to be inducted that was written after last year’s snub

Another year of announcements for the College Football Hall of Fame has come and gone. And once again, Brian Bosworth has been snubbed.

Whatever you think of The Boz and his acting career, his pro football career, his reported PED use and whatever other careers he has pursued, one fact remains. Brian Bosworth was a helluva college football player.

From 1984-1986, Bosworth amassed 395 tackles, 169 unassisted, 27 for losses. He is the only collegian to ever win the Butkus Award twice, was a two-time consensus All-American and set the school record for tackles in a game with 22 against Miami when they meant something.

But his college career ended in infamy, first getting suspended for the Orange Bowl after testing positive for banned substances and then embarrassing his team and coach by wearing a T-Shirt that said the NCAA stood for National Communists Against Athletes.

And for that, he is snubbed by the college hall in favor of people likeJoe Hamilton (Georgia Tech quarterback 1996-99) who I don’t remember at all, John Sciarra (UCLA quarterback 1972-75), Leonard Smith (McNeese State cornerback 1979-82) and Wesley Walls(Ole Miss tight end 1985-88).

Thirty years have passed since Bosworth’s “transgressions”. A pair of foolish incidents involving a 20-year old shouldn’t wipe out a career of excellence. Time to get over it, college football. The Boz-and Brian Bosworth-belong in your hall of fame.